The last valentine
by JD-HIV
Summary: Takes place during and after chosen. What did Spike go through while he was IN the gem, necklace... thing... for those three months... Was Spike telling the truth when he said he couldn't remember?
1. Memories

(A/N… I own nothing… so don't sue me… I don't own anything anyway! Takes place during/right after chosen. )

The Last Valentine.

Memory. Our mind's powerful possessor of personal events. Powerful enough to remind us, teach us, hold us slaves, or free us. Memories of the past are forever suspended in our minds for instant recall and can have the power to possess our present lives.

Love. The emotion that endures trial and, in devotion, becomes never ending in its loyalty.

In the end, it's about love that gains immortal stature. Like a torch that cannot be extinguished, this kind of love transcends time to touch the lives that seek it.

Along with our memories of loving relationships, there are often special places, both public and private, that captivate and hold a sacred meaning for us. In recalling these places, our memories evoke reverent feelings-- not because the places themselves are holy sanctuaries. but because something wonderful-- heavenly-- happened there.

So it was with Adam Kingston and his wife. So it is with the story of_ The Last Valentine._


	2. Death of a Champion

Chapter II

"Gotta move, lamb," Spike said tenderly to her. "I think it's fair to say school's out for the bloody summer."

The cavern was collapsing at the top and bottom, the actual school falling on the vampires.

"Spike," Buffy begged.

"I mean it," Spike told her. "I gotta do this."

His hand was held up, frozen in his rictus of revelatory pain. Buffy took her own hand, interlocked it with his. A moment... and both their hands burst into flames.

The flame of internal love.

They ignored the fire, and looked at each other.

"I love you," She told him, shaking.

_And there it is, then. That girl, Cassie, she told me she would say it. She didn't tell me how, or when... but it's been said._

_Now I can go._

He smiled kindly. "No, you don't," He told her. "But thanks for saying it."

A quake rocked them, and Spike pushed her away.

"It's your world up there. Now _go!_"

She looked at him... and went, bolting for her life while Spike gazed at the destruction in front of him and smiled wickedly.

"I wanna see how it ends," He said. Spike smiled as he was eaten from the inside by the power, and the world fell away from beneath him as he died.

Died a hero.

Died a champion.

Died good.


	3. Is This Hell?

Chapter III

Spike rubbed his eyes with his hands before slowly opening them, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. _Was that just a dream?_ He wondered. He slowly sat up and grunted in pain. _Nope, it happened._ He thought as he held his hand to his chest. He could still feel the sunlight pouring through his chest, even though it wasn't. _Where am I? _Spike Suddenly got dizzy and closed his eyes tightly. When he opened his eyes he expected to see the darkness that he had seen before. But to his surprise, he wasn't.

Instead of being shrouded in darkness like he was before, he was surprised to find himself in the middle of a field. _I remember this place._ Spike thought. It wasn't a big field. It wasn't much bigger than a... _A schoolyard._ Spike remembered this place. But he didn't want to. He hadn't been to this place since he was a kid.

Spike turned around to see a white building behind him. He walked up to the building and looked in.

Inside he saw two people. A young teacher. And himself. Or, it was himself when he was much younger. The seven year old William Kingston sat on one of the desks, his shirt laid nicely off to the side as the teacher, _Mrs. Stapleton_, gently cleaned the cuts on his back with a clean rag. Spike remembered her. She was his only sanctuary from his father and the boys from school. When he was with her, was the only time he wasn't tormented. Well, her and his sister, Emly. Spike closed his eyes as he remembered. He didn't want to remember.

After he was sired, he suppressed all of his memories. And he did it for a reason, he didn't want to remember them.

When Spike opened his eyes again, night had come and William and Mrs. Stapelton where gone. He turned away from the window he was looking in and looked around. He was now alone. He walked out of the field and went into an area that was surrounded by trees. He could hear a boys loud crying. Or, wailing was more like it. He walked a little bit further toward the sound before he found its cause. William was sitting by a tree curled up into a ball and was crying in immense pain. But it wasn't from physical pain. It was emotional. Spike walked closer to William and tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but found that he could not. Instead of his hand touching his shoulder, it went right through. Spike shook his head. He couldn't remember why he was crying. Spike noticed that William was looking up in a tree in front of him and looked up. He wished he hadn't and threw up. Now he remembered. Spike, despite his lack of breath, started hyperventilating. Up in the tree was his sister's beaten and mangled body. Their father had murdered her that night, when William hadn't come home. Mrs. Stapelton said that if he wanted he could come to her house for the night, where he would be safe. He had agreed, selfishly not even thinking of his sister and this had been the result. He couldn't live with himself after that. He watched sadly as William got up and started running.

Spike didn't need to follow him, he already knew where he was going. After William was out of site he stood up slowly and started walking toward London Bridge.

He saw William standing on the side of the bridge looking down. William looked down at the notebook in his hand that Mrs. Stapelton had given him and sat down. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and started writing.

_'Dear Mrs. Stapelton. _

_Thank you so much for all you've done for me,_

_I know there is no way I can repay you, and there is now way I passably could._

_I can no longer live with myself for what I have done._

_So I'm just writing this letter to thank you and to say Good-bye._

_Your loving student, William Kingston.'_

He attached the note to the side of the bridge where someone would find it, and give it to her... and jumped. Spike watched as the boy his the water hard. The strong current dragging him under and down the stream. Spike closed his eyes, and shook his head.

_Is this hell?_


	4. Loves Bitch

Chapter IV

Spike opened his eyes and saw Mrs. Stapelton at the side of the riverbank. William had washed up on shore a couple of miles away and when she had found his note she went looking for him. She sat on the bank crying, hugging William's unmoving body, and rocking him back and fourth. All of a sudden William started coughing, water pouring out of his mouth. His eyes where still shut, and he was still unconscious, but he was alive. Mrs. Stapelton smiled as William opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Why aren't I dead?" He asked. Mrs. Stapelton smiled at him sadly.

"Come on, I'll take you home!" William struggled, weakly, to get away from her.

"I can't go home!" He shook his head, crying. "He'll kill me." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"He killed Emly and he'll kill me." He sniffed. "Emly's dead and its all my fault." He finally managed to get out of her grip and fell hard on the ground. "I should have gone home. It should have been me! Not her! Never her!" He curled up into a ball and hid his face in his arms. Mrs. Stapelton knelt down in front of him and pushed his hair away from his face.

"Would it help if I said that he couldn't hurt you anymore." William looked up at her.

"He already has." William said. "And he always will." Mrs. Stapelton shook her head sadly.

"Your father was taken to jail early this morning." She said. "Someone reported seeing him with Emly last night and got suspicious. Its not your fault William, even if you were there, there was nothing you would have been able to do."

Spike scoffed. _Yeah that helped, lets just make me feel weak and useless._

William looked up at her. "He confessed this morning, that he was going to kill both of you. All you did was save your own life."

"But I should have taken her with me."

"William, listen to me, there was nothing you could have done. She's probably happier where she is now. And she'd want you to get on with your life. Not end it short. Live on and do all the things she wasn't able to do." William thought a moment before nodding. "Now come on. You can come and stay with me until everything is all settled and figured out." She picked him up and carried him home.

Spike never realized how small he had been then. He knew he was smaller than everyone else his age. But never did he realize...

Spike once again closed his eyes and when he opened them again he found himself… or more properly stated, William, sitting in the corner of what appeared to be some type of social party. He's dressed nineteenth century-style, with floppy blonde curls and smallish spectacles. Spike shook his head. _Why here? Of all the times and places in the world, why here??? Why now?_

Spike watched as William struggled to find the 'proper' word to use. He shook his head and sighed. He watched as William walked over to a group of people. One of the men, Cyril Lasher, grabbed the poem out of his hand and looked at it. _Grab it away you fool_ Spike thought. _Don't be a wimp._ He watched at William's weak attempt to get the paper back and saw that Lasher had started reading it. He heard everyone laugh and saw William take the paper back and follow Cecily into another room. He didn't want to follow, but did none the less.

"William," Cecily said, "I'm going to ask you a very personal question." William nodded. "Your poems, there not about me, are they?" _Deny it! Deny it!_

"There about how I feel." William responded.

"Yes, but are they about me?" William looked down at the poem in his hand and took a deep breath, trying to gain the courage to get the words out.

"Every syllable." He forced out. Cecily turned around, completely distraught. "Oh, I know I'm a bad poet… but… There just words. All I ask… is that you see me…" Cecily turned around and looked at him.

"That's the problem. I do see you." She said. Spike shook his head. _I told you to deny it. _"You mean nothing to me William." She said standing up. "Your beneath me." And with that she walked away.

TBC…. Plz R&R


End file.
